Thank You for sending me to Mars!

MaryLiz Bender is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

With your help, I'll join a team of scientists, engineers, and artists during a Mars simulation mission to study and aid in the human experience of space travel.

Credit for all photos: Michaela Musilova/HI-SEAS

HI-SEAS MARS SIMULATION
On January 18, I will enter a Martian habitat located atop Volcano Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii where I'll live and work alongside a crew of 6 in the ~13,000 cubic ft HI-SEAS Habitat.

A MESSAGE TO THE FUTURE
During EVA's, we will explore nearby lava tubes and I'll assist my crewmates with their scientific research. Along with my friend, Hillary Coe, I will bury an indestructible Arch Mission time capsule with a set of meaningful messages we prepared for future beings to discover.

ART & THE HUMAN CONDITION
I will work together with my crewmate, Hillary, to research the human experience in Martian conditions. How do creative expression, mindfulness, and healthy habits affect our experience?

I'M MARYLIZ BENDER:
Futurist Composer, Space Age Storyteller, and Explorer.

I co-founded Cosmic Perspective where I connect people to space through story, film, and outreach. I've spent years documenting over 70 rocket launches and interviewing scientists and astronauts. Through that work, I discovered that nothing excites me more than the human experience of spaceflight—the way it transforms by shifting perspective and pushing us to reach for our highest potential.

During this mission, I will study the ways that my crew and I use art and story to connect with ourselves, each other, and humans "back on Earth." I will use my MI.MU music gloves to connect with my crewmates and record a musical time capsule, composing music with the sounds of our environment.

I am preparing to send the gloves to space so space travelers can experiment with a versatile method of self-expression and connection. As part of that project,I'm working on a Cosmic Perspective film that tells the story of the past, present, and future of art in space. The timing of this mission allows me to incorporate our own artistic explorations in the documentary, as my crew and I experiment with the musical gloves and other artistic means.

THANK YOU
FOR MAKING MY MISSION POSSIBLE

Funds will help pay my mission costs ($3,400 + air travel) and allow me to purchase special equipment.

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A HUGE, special Thank You to Yuri's Night and Arch Mission Foundation for supporting this journey, and to HI-SEAS, the International MoonBase Alliance, and our Mission Commander, Michaela Musilova, for making this dream a reality.